Matt Battaglia

Matt Battaglia
Born Matteo Martin Battaglia
(1965-09-25) September 25, 1965
Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Occupation Football player, actor, producer
Years active 1989 (football player)
1989–present (actor)
Spouse(s) Tina Frazier (m. 2006)
Children 2

Matteo Martin "Matt" Battaglia (born September 25, 1965) is an American actor and former American football player.

Background and football

Matt Battaglia
No. 52
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College: Louisville
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Battaglia, one of four siblings, was born in Tallahassee, Florida and is of half Italian and half German/Dutch heritage. He has an older sister, Mary Ann Battaglia Pedersen, an older sister whose married name is Theresa Battaglia Nossett and an older brother Vince Battaglia, who served 3 tours in the Iraqi and Afghanistan Wars.

When Battaglia was three years old, his family moved north from Tallahassee, Florida and he grew up in the towns of Tucker, Georgia and Lithonia, Georgia, two suburbs east of Atlanta. He attended Idlewood Elementary in Tucker, Georgia and then in 1977, his family moved 15 miles southeast and he attended Lithonia High School. His family currently resides in Roswell, Georgia. As a high school athlete, Battaglia served as team captain for his school's wrestling and football teams. In wrestling he placed second in the AAU's Southeastern States Championship, qualifying him to compete in the National AAU Tournament. But a football scholarship led him to the University of Louisville, where he became an All-American and All-South middle linebacker, leading the nation in tackles both his junior and senior seasons with 153 and 166 tackles respectively. He averaged 15 tackles per game in both his junior and senior seasons. Battaglia also broke former All-Pro Otis Wilson's college tackling record. He was team captain his junior and senior year and was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches. Battaglia went on to play in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. Two years later, his career ended abruptly after a broken bone was discovered in his neck. He returned to school, graduating from the University of Louisville with a degree in business and an emphasis in finance. In September 2006, he was named to the All-time University of Louisville team, with such football greats as Johnny Unitas, Mark Clayton, Tom Jackson, Deion Branch, Joe Jacoby, Dwayne Woodruff and Frank Minnifield.

Acting and producing

Battaglia is an Emmy winning producer,[1] has co-produced a two time Golden Globe nominated film and has been an actor in over 90 films, network pilots and television shows.

In 2011, Battaglia was Executive Producer of the television show "Last Shot with Judge Gunn", which he sold straight into syndication with 130 episodes in season one. He was nominated and won the Emmy in June 2012 as Executive Producer for its first season on the air. The show also won an Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Drama. It was both his and the show's first nomination and first win.

Battaglia served as Co-producer on the two time Golden Globe-nominated film Brothers, starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal.[2] The film is a remake of the 2004 Danish film by Susanne Bier. The remake was directed by six-time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan, from a script written by David Benioff, and was released worldwide on December 4, 2009 by Lionsgate.

Battaglia was also a co-executive producer on the 2009 horror film Kill Theory, directed by Chris Moore.

Battaglia formed Matt Battaglia Productions to produce feature films and television shows. His first acquisition was in 2008 for the life rights to The Marlboro Marine, which is currently in development as a documentary. He continued with optioning some best selling books including the national bestseller Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff and Or I'll Dress You in Mourning by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre.[3] Mourning was adapted into a screenplay by screenwriters Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal. Bad Monkeys is currently set up at Fox Studios and a script has been completed by writer Jeff Eastin, most known for creating White Collar. In 2011, he was also Executive Producer of the documentary Do As You Likey.

As a feature film actor, Battaglia has acted in the Marvel Comics Thor, Sony Pictures action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut and rap artist Ja Rule. He replaced Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead role of Luc Deveraux in the action movies Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. He has also acted in Kiss of a Stranger, Pendulum and the direct-to-video film Raven.

In television, Battaglia is known for his episode of NBC's hit sitcom Friends (playing the fireman boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow's character). He also had the recurring role of Drew Boyd in Queer As Folk. Other notable guest appearances include The Mentalist, The Client List, Longmire in 2012, two episodes on 24, two episodes of HBO's Big Love, and appearances in shows such as Shark, CSI: NY, Bones, Charmed, JAG, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and CSI: Miami.

Battaglia currently serves on the board of advisors for the G.I. Film Festival, which honors the successes and sacrifices of US soldiers through the medium of film.

Personal life

Battaglia married Tina Frazier in 2006. The couple has two children, Blaize Christian Battaglia and Paxton Rose Battaglia.

Filmography and other appearances

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Chantilly Lace Chris the Pizza Boy (TV Movie)
1993 Joshua Tree Michael Agnos
1994 Blue Sky NATO Soldier
1995 Showgirls Andrew Carver's Bodyguard
1996 Not Again! Clete
1996 Raven Martin 'Duce' Grant (Video)
1999 Avalon: Beyond the Abyss Pete Trudeau (TV Movie)
1999 Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business Luc Devereaux / GR44 (TV Movie)
1999 Kiss of a Stranger Nathan Leigh
2001 Pendulum William Cobb
2002 Half Past Dead 49er Three
2006 On the Brink Ed Cohn (Short)
2006 Hollis & Rae Jim Clements (TV Movie)
2007 Pandemic Frank Jantzen (TV Movie)
2009 The Perfect Game Coach McAllen (as Matt Bataglia)
2009 Heiße Spur James Diaz (TV Movie)
2010 The Client List Don (TV Movie)
2011 Thor Pete
2012 Madison High Waylon
2014 Reality Mike

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Days of Our Lives Snake / Pete 2 episodes
1990 21 Jump Street Tim 1 episode
1991 Superboy Darryll 1 episode
1991 Twin Peaks Cop 1 episode
1991 Evening Shade Mitch 1 episode
1991 Coach Player #1 1 episode
1991 Matlock Rudy Simms 1 episode
1991 Knots Landing Duke 1 episode
1992 Sibs k 1 episode
1993 Time Trax Mark Lofton 1 episode
1994 Silk Stalkings Bo Rainey 1 episode
1994 Renegade Ted 1 episode
1995 Thunder Alley Jack Crawford 1 episode
1996 Maybe This Time Bobby 1 episode
1996 JAG Lieutenant Alexander Kellogue 1 episode
1996 Caroline in the City Joseph 1 episode
1996 Bedtime Semple
1997 Baywatch Terry McFarren 1 episode
1997 Friends Vince 1 episode
1998 George & Leo Steve 1 episode
1998 Arli$$ Skip Myers 1 episode
1996 - 1998 Pacific Blue Lloyd / Rip Cutter 3 episodes
1998 Encore! Encore! Tina 1 episode
2000 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Daniel Boone 2 episodes
2000 18 Wheels of Justice Vince Youngblood 1 episode
2000 Cursed Dan 1 episode
2000 The Michael Richards Show Marcus Feal 1 episode
2000 3rd Rock from the Sun Bryce Canyon 1 episode
2000 That '70s Show Dean 1 episode
2001 Charmed Journalist 1 episode
2001 Off Centre O'Leary 1 episode
2002 Malcolm in the Middle Merl 1 episode
2004 Century City Mr. Portnoff 1 episode
2004 NCIS Petty Officer Porcaro 1 episode
2004 - 2005 Queer as Folk Drew Boyd 9 episodes
2005 What I Like About You Joe 1 episode
2006 Bones Captain William Fuller 1 episode
2006 CSI: Miami Dr. Trevor Valone 1 episode
2006 - 2007 24 Agent Jennings 2 episodes
2007 Big Love Sheriff Thomas 2 episodes
2007 Shark Don Kipling 1 episode
2008 CSI: NY Dr. Harrison Green 1 episode
2009 NCIS: Los Angeles Kurt Holgate 1 episode
2012 The Mentalist Curtis Nett 1 episode
2012 The Client List Don Jenkins 1 episode
2012 Mike & Molly Rob 1 episode
2013 The Big Bang Theory Officer Reynolds 1 episode
2013 Franklin & Bash Johnny 1 episode
2015 Backstrom Nick D'Agostino 1 episode

References

  1. ↑ Matt Battaglia: Emmy Winner (6/28/12)
  2. ↑ Brothers co-producer lines up pics (12/3/09)
  3. ↑ Brothers Producer Matt Battaglia Lines Up A Few New Projects (12/4/09)
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